Storytelling Coat – Lesley Illingworth

Lesley Illingworth’s story telling coat is a powerful way to tell her truth and confront the lies. The outer coat of purple extols the strengths of disabled people, such as strength, patience, intuition.

The lining, however, tells a different story. MPs’ names are partnered with the name of a disabled person from Calum’s List– a memorial to deceased benefit claimants, where welfare reform is alleged to have had some culpability for their deaths.

Lesley Illingworth draws on her extensive experience, as a disabled woman, of the medical and political systems, and particularly their impact on disabled people. Illingworth is Interested in how policy and decision-making is affected by the educational, familial and psychological powerbase of authority figures.

“I have become acutely aware of the storytelling spin and lies political organisations use to further their own causes. Attempting to rewrite a story with no illness, disability, powerlessness or vulnerability, rewriting the story believing they can cure and change illness and disability with hard work. But of course they cannot effect this change.”

“Current policies further humiliate and abuse disabled people in an attempt to kill them off and make them disappear. I have recently been evicted from my home and placed in temporary accommodation, with complete disregard for my illness and disability, as there is inadequate social housing available.”